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Character 

The  Foundation  of  Successful  Business 


by 

John  D.  Rockefeller,  Jr. 


Ex  ICtbrtfi 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


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0  s  C  3  2  1  F  CJ  :  2- 


Character 

The  Foundation  of  Successful  Business 


by 

John  D.  Rockefeller,  Jr. 


Jin  address  delivered  before  the 
Twenty-Six  'Broadway  Qlub 
December  i,  ig2j 


Kf 

<=>n£ 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


Character 

The  Foundation  of  Successful  Business 

£Mr.  Qhairman  and  Friends: 

Mrs.  Rockefeller  and  I  hold  so  pleasantly  in 
memory  the  evening  spent  with  you  four  years 
ago  that  we  are  more  than  glad  to  be  here  tonight 
and  to  have  the  opportunity  of  repeating  an  experience 
so  wholly  delightful.  As  I  look  into  your  faces  and 
reflect  upon  what  your  company  is  doing,  I  am  very 
proud  of  this  splendid  family  and  a  bit  envious  of 
those  who  are  really  related  to  it.  Just  what  quali- 
fications are  requisite  for  membership,  I  do  not  know, 
but  assume  only  those  are  eligible  who  are  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  company. 

While  it  is  true  that  neither  Mrs.  Rockefeller  nor  I 
are  on  the  payroll  of  the  company,  we  are  nevertheless 
both  working  for  the  promotion  of  the  company's  inter- 
est— Mrs.  Rockefeller  in  Bayway  and  Bayonne  and  I 
wherever  opportunity  offers.  Will  Rogers  recently 
offered  to  bet  Mr.  Arthur  Brisbane  $5,000  that  Presi- 


Character 


dent  Coolidge  would  run  again.  In  the  course  of  his 
letter  he  said,  "I  know  you  writers  write  one  thing  and 
think  another,  but  a  man  always  bets  the  way  he  thinks." 
It  is  a  truism  that  one's  interest  follows  one's  invest- 
ments. Therefore,  the  fact  that  Mrs.  Rockefeller  and 
I  have  quite  a  snug  little  nest-egg  tucked  away  in  the 
securities  of  your  company  speaks  perhaps  more  elo- 
quently than  anything  I  can  say  of  our  belief  in  the 
company,  which  means  our  belief  in  you. 


Service  the  Pathway  to  Success 

In  the  few  words  which  I  had  the  privilege  of  saying 
to  you  four  years  ago  this  evening,  I  called  attention 
to  the  fact  that  that  company  which  renders  service 
efficiently  and  satisfactorily  is  following  the  surest 
path  to  financial  success.  In  this  connection  I  was 
greatly  pleased  to  have  brought  to  my  attention  re- 
cently a  newspaper  story  concerning  this  company 
which  ran  as  follows: 


"When  one  drives  into  a  Standard  service 
station  these  days  a  youth  in  uniform  approaches 
the  car  from  the  front.  He  carries  a  water  can 
with  a  long  snout.    He  opens  your  radiator  cap 

C43 


Qharacter 


and  pours  water  in  the  tank.  Then  he  closes  the 
cap,  takes  a  rag,  wipes  off  the  nickel  trimming, 
after  which  he  attacks  the  windshield  with  the 
rag  and  removes  all  evidences  of  the  previous 
night's  fog.  In  the  meantime  he  nods  a  cheery 
good  morning  or  good  evening  to  you,  and 
without  more  ado  raises  your  hood  and  examines 
the  status  of  the  oil  in  your  crankcase. 

"All  of  this  before  you  have  a  chance  to  say  a 
word.  Later,  when  you  have  ascertained  the 
condition  of  your  oil,  and,  if  necessary,  reme- 
died it,  he  stands  by  respectfully  to  learn  your 
desires  in  the  matter  of  gasoline. 

"All  of  this  time  you  are  thinking  what  a 
thundering  nice  fellow  he  is  to  fill  your  water 
tank,  examine  your  oil  and  ascertain  your  gaso- 
line needs.  The  thought  immediately  arises 
that  here  is  a  fellow  who  deserves  an  adequate 
tip,  and  while  you  are  pondering  in  your  mind 
whether  it  should  be  a  quarter  or  a  half,  your 
eyes  fall  upon  a  bright  red  sign  which  informs 
you  that  tips  are  not  acceptable,  that  the  service 
you  have  received  is  gratis. 


Qharacter 


"In  the  meantime  your  gasoline  needs  have 
been  tended  to  and  the  young  man  stands 
attentively  at  your  car  window.  You  ask  him 
how  much,  he  tells  you  and,  after  counting  your 
change,  waves  you  goodby  and  you  drive  off. 

"Somehow  you  feel,  as  you  drive  away  from 
one  of  those  stations,  that  your  old  car  doesn't 
look  so  badly  and  that,  after  all,  the  winter  isn't 
going  to  be  so  hard.  That  is,  you  have  some- 
thing of  the  feeling  of  a  man  who  upon  inquiry 
at  the  bank  learns  that  his  balance  is  larger  than 
he  expected  it  to  be. 

"If  everybody  in  your  line  of  business  in 
this  town  would  go  half  as  far  to  be  nice  and 
pleasant  to  people  as  do  these  boys  of  the 
Standard  Oil  Company,  then  we  expect  this 
would  be  a  much  pleasanter  place  to  live  in, 
and,  in  the  long  run,  a  much  more  profitable 


•""pHis  story  well  illustrates  the  fine  type  of  service 
which  this  company  is  rendering.    In  the  days  when 
my  father  was  active  in  affairs,  the  great  problem  with 


one. 


[6] 


Qharacter 


which  business  was  grappling  was  how  to  organize  on 
a  scale  commensurate  with  the  growing  demands  for 
service  made  by  the  ever  increasing  population.  Now 
the  gigantic  corporate  form  of  business,  suspected  and 
harassed  during  the  years  of  its  evolution,  is  accepted 
as  not  only  useful  but  indispensable.  Business  also  has 
turned  its  attention  to  the  development  of  better  rela- 
tions between  employer  and  employe  and,  while  much 
remains  to  be  done,  marvelous  progress  has  been  made 
along  that  line. 

High  Standards  of 
Business  Ethics 

Today  the  vital  matter  to  which  business  must 
needs  address  itself  is  the  re-emphasizing  of  high 
standards  of  business  ethics,  for  upon  such  a  founda- 
tion only  can  business  be  permanently  successful. 
This  company  was  a  pioneer  in  the  first  two  of  these 
fields  and  made  a  contribution  of  immense  value.  Here 
again  in  this  third  field  can  it  render  to  business  a 
further  inestimable  service  by  the  example  which  it 
sets.  Feeling  as  I  do  that  this  question  is  of  basic 
significance,  I  should  like  to  say  a  few  words  tonight 
on  the  subject — 

"Character — the  foundation  of  successful  business." 

Ill 


Character 


Of  course  other  qualities  besides  character  are  also 
necessary — ability,  persistence,  industry,  thrift — but 
character  is  indispensable.  Some  people  confuse  repu- 
tation with  character.  Reputation  is  what  people  think 
we  are;  character  is  what  we  really  are.  A  good  reputa- 
tion for  an  individual  or  business  concern  is  to  be  de- 
sired; far  more  so  a  character  that  is  beyond  question. 

Four  Qualities  of  Character 

May  I  mention  briefly  four  qualities  which  go  to 
make  up  character.  The  first  is  integrity.  We  put 
our  money  in  a  bank  with  a  sense  of  security  because 
we  believe  in  the  integrity  of  those  in  charge. 
A  man  may  speculate  in  the  hope  of  making  a  lucky 
turn,  but  he  invests  his  money  in  enterprises  conducted 
by  men  of  known  integrity.  Integrity  in  business  means 
a  trade  as  good  for  one  party  as  for  the  other.  A  man 
may  get  the  better  of  you  in  a  bargain  once,  but  you 
continue  to  do  business  with  those  people  only  who 
you  know  are  looking  out  for  your  interests  as  well 
as  their  own. 

Last  summer  three  of  our  sons  were  traveling  with 
us  in  Europe.  Each  was  assigned  some  particular  task 
in  connection  with  the  business  of  traveling.    One  at- 


Qharacter 


tended  to  the  auditing  and  paying  of  bills  and  the 
handling  of  funds ;  another  to  the  baggage ;  while 
the  third  did  errands.  Each  received  weekly  pay  com- 
mensurate with  the  service  rendered.  As  a  result  of 
this  experience,  the  boy  who  paid  the  bills  came  to  real- 
ize that  the  reason  for  carefully  auditing  and  adding 
any  account  before  paying  it,  whether  for  a  meal,  hotel 
accommodations  or  goods  purchased,  was  quite  as  much 
to  make  sure  that  full  payment  was  rendered  for  the 
service  received  as  to  guard  against  the  possibility  of 
paying  more  than  the  exact  sum  due.  The  amount  of 
error  on  either  side  of  the  account  was  not  the  signifi- 
cant thing,  but  rather  the  principle  of  absolute  integrity 
and  accuracy. 

Obedience  to  Law 

In  the  second  place,  character  implies  obedience  to 
law — irrespective  of  whether  one  likes  the  law,  be- 
lieves in  it  or  is  opposed  to  it.  How  well  known  to 
all  of  us  are  instances  of  law  breaking  like  the  follow- 
ing: Here  is  a  woman  who  says,  "I  don't  believe 
in  the  customs  law.  It  is  foolish  and  unwarranted. 
Therefore  I  feel  perfectly  justified  in  smuggling." 
With  equal  propriety  says  the  footpad,  "This  law 
against  highway  robbery  cramps  my  style  and  forces 

t9l 


me  to  the  unwelcome  alternative  of  earning  an  honest 
living."  And  he  holds  up  the  next  automobile  that 
passes. 

Another  illustration  of  this  same  attitude  is  the 
feeling  on  the  part  of  many  people  that  the  18th 
amendment  is  an  infringement  of  personal  liberty  and 
therefore  its  observance  is  purely  optional.  To  my 
way  of  thinking  it  is  absolutely  on  all  fours  with  the 
cases  cited  above. 

And  again  the  same  disregard  for  law  sometimes 
shows  itself  in  connection  with  the  operations  of  busi- 
ness. There  are  a  large  and  increasing  number  of  laws 
regulating  business.  The  great  majority  of  them  are 
undoubtedly  wise  and  in  the  interest  of  the  people. 
Some  unnecessarily  hamper  and  restrict  business  and 
do  not  serve  the  common  good.  Here,  as  in  any  of 
these  other  instances  of  regrettably  common  lawlessness, 
one  has  respect  for  the  man  who  seeks  by  every  legiti- 
mate means  to  bring  about  the  repeal  of  a  law  which 
he  honestly  thinks  to  be  contrary  to  public  interest.  But 
law  is  law,  whether  it  affects  personal  liberty,  social 
well-being  or  business;  so  long  as  it  remains  the  law 
of  the  land  it  should  be  obeyed  both  by  individuals  and 
by  corporations.   The  alternative  is  anarchy. 


  Character  

A  third  requisite  of  character  is  clean  living.  With 
the  changing  point  of  view  of  modern  times  in  regard 
to  moral  questions,  one  almost  wonders  whether  there  is 
any  such  thing  as  fixed  moral  standards.  And  yet,  with 
all  due  allowance  for  legitimate  differences  of  opinion, 
way  down  within  us  all  we  know  that  those  things 
which  keep  us  physically  fit,  mentally  vigorous  and 
spiritually  sensitive  make  for  clean  living  and  fine 
character,  while  whatever  tends  to  defile  the  "house 
beautiful"  in  which  our  spirit  dwells,  to  dull  the  power 
of  our  minds,  to  lower  our  ideals,  is  unworthy. 

Clean  Living 

In  these  days  of  unprecedented  and  widespread  pros- 
perity in  our  land,  with  self-indulgence  growing,  indi- 
vidual liberty  too  frequently  becoming  license,  and  will- 
power weakened  by  the  less  virile  conditions  of  life, 
there  is  serious  need  of  re-emphasizing  the  underlying 
importance  of  clean  living  as  a  requisite  of  business  suc- 
cess. The  good  mixer,  the  hail-fellow-well-met  is  an 
asset  in  any  business,  but  when  he  feels  it  necessary  to 
"go  the  pace,"  whether  from  personal  inclination  or 
ostensibly  to  maintain  his  business  contacts,  he  becomes 
a  distinct  liability  to  his  company,  and  a  positive  menace 
to  its  public  standing  and  its  morale,  both  of  which  are 


0  3 


Character 


of  basic  importance.  A  new  emphasis  on  high  ideals  of 
personal  living  is  greatly  needed  in  business  today,  also, 
may  I  add,  men  with  the  courage  to  live  up  to  their 
convictions. 

Singleness  of  Purpose 

The  fourth  and  final  quality  which  I  would  mention 
is  singleness  of  purpose  or  loyalty.  Nothing  truer  was 
ever  said  than  that  "no  man  can  serve  two  masters."  So 
obvious  is  this  fact  that  it  has  been  embodied  in  law, 
which  forbids  the  receiving  of  a  commission  from  both 
buyer  and  seller.  Often,  however,  in  so  insidious  a 
way  is  influence  brought  to  bear  to  break  down  one's 
singleness  of  purpose  that  the  approach  is  not  easy  to 
recognize. 

When  I  first  sought  to  be  useful  to  my  father  in 
business  ways,  I  had  occasion  to  suspect  that  a 
certain  employe  who  was  buying  supplies  was  taking 
commissions.  I  questioned  him  carefully  but  was  un- 
able to  draw  out  the  fact  of  which  I  had  outside  proof. 
Ultimately  when  I  asked  him  point  blank  if  he  had  ever 
received  any  money  or  presents  from  a  certain  concern, 
he  said,  "Why,  yes,  they  sent  me  a  Christmas  present, 
but  I  did  not  suppose  that  had  anything  to  do  with  my 
buying  of  them." 


Qharacter 


One's  value  to  an  employer  is  in  large  measure 
dependent  upon  singleness  of  purpose.  If  in  consider- 
ing advice  given  or  an  opinion  expressed  one  must 
always  wonder  whether  it  is  disinterested  or  whether 
personal  advantage  enters  in,  its  value  is  seriously  dis- 
counted. To  be  worthy  of  the  complete  confidence  of 
our  associates,  to  know  that  they  can  put  a  hundred 
per  cent  reliance  in  the  disinterestedness  of  the 
opinions  which  we  express,  is  one  of  the  finest  things 
in  life.  No  gain  to  be  derived  from  undertaking  to 
ride  two  horses  at  the  same  time  can  begin  to  equal 
the  satisfaction  thus  realized. 


hese  then  are  certain  of  the  fundamental  qualities 


that  underlie  character — integrity,  obedience  to  law, 
clean  living  and  singleness  of  fur  pose.  Is  there  any 
one  of  them  that  can  be  omitted  or  ignored  without 
hazarding  continuing  business  success?  It  is  true  that 
money  is  often  made  by  trickery  and  sharp  practice, 
but  successful  business  is  not  established  on  a  founda- 
tion so  shifting. 

Regretfully  must  we  admit  that  instances  are  not 
lacking  of  corporations  and  individuals  who  set  them- 


C  13  3 


Character 


selves  up  as  superior  to  law,  but  when  condemned,  as 
they  are  sure  to  be,  in  the  court  of  public  opinion, 
even  the  most  worldly  minded  is  bound  to  ask  himself, 
"Does  it  pay?",  and  to  admit  that  no  business  can  be 
permanently  successful  which  is  not  law-abiding. 

The  Best  Chance  of  Winning 

As  for  clean  living,  is  it  not  obvious  that  that  man 
stands  the  best  chance  of  winning  out  in  any  sphere  who 
is  sound  in  body,  alert  of  mind  and  fearless  of  heart? 
Singleness  of  purpose,  the  loyalty  of  those  with  whom 
we  are  associated,  gives  us  confidence  in  our  fellows 
and  makes  great  enterprises  and  achievement  possible. 

But,  someone  says,  the  pressure  of  competition  is  so 
tremendous  that  it  is  not  always  practicable  to  maintain 
these  standards,  much  as  we  may  believe  in  them.  I 
answer  that  no  honest  stockholder  wants  profits  derived 
from  compromise  with  right,  nor  would  he  wittingly 
permit,  much  less  expect,  any  act  to  be  performed  by 
anyone  representing  the  company,  from  the  president 
to  the  office  boy,  which  he  would  not  himself  be  willing 
to  perform.  This  is  a  position  which  cannot  be  too 
strongly  stated.  It  is  a  platform  on  which  I  have  al- 
ways stood  like  the  rock  of  Gibraltar. 


Qharacter 


To  Make  a  Life, 
Not  a  Living 

Every  ambitious,  self-respecting  individual  wants  to 
make  a  living.  That  he  should  do,  and  as  much  more 
as  his  services  to  society  justify.  But  in  this  money- 
mad  age  we  do  well  to  remind  ourselves  that  after  all 
the  real  purpose  of  our  existence  is  not  to  make  a  liv- 
ing, but  to  make  a  life — a  worthy,  well-rounded  and 
useful  life.  In  the  long  run,  therefore,  anything  that 
defeats  that  purpose  is  not  worth  the  cost. 

Years  ago  my  father  received  a  letter  from  someone 
in  the  Middle  West  who  said  he  had  been  charged  an 
exorbitant  price  for  kerosene  in  a  small  country  grocery 
store.  His  immediate  assumption  was  that  the  president 
of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  approved  and  authorized 
such  overcharge}  hence  the  bitter  letter  which  he  wrote 
the  then  president.  In  other  words,  the  president  of  the 
company  was  being  judged  by  the  unwarranted  and  to 
him  utterly  unknown  act  of  the  grocery  clerk. 

No  Man  Can  Live 
Unto  Himself  Alone 

Each  one  of  you  to  a  degree  holds  in  his  hand  the 
reputation  of  your  associates  in  this  company  and  of 
the  stockholders  as  well.  Where  the  man  at  the  service 


n  is  3 


Qharacter 


station  renders  efficient,  cheerful  service,  he  is  bringing 
direct  credit  upon  everyone  connected  with  the  com- 
pany. Where  an  employe,  of  whatever  rank,  fails  to 
live  up  to  the  highest  standards  in  his  individual  busi- 
ness life,  he  is  bringing  discredit  upon  his  associates 
and  his  employers. 

Truly  has  it  been  said  that  no  man  can  live  unto 
himself  alone;  our  lives  are  too  intimately  interwoven, 
human  relations  are  too  interdependent.  It  is  because 
I  believe  so  profoundly  in  this  Standard  Oil  family, 
because  I  am  so  proud  of  what  it  is  and  what  it  is 
doing,  that  I  covet  for  it  the  best  in  personal  character, 
in  ideals  as  well  as  in  business  success. 


A  Letter  to  the 
Twenty-Six  Broadway  Club 
from  Mr.  John  D.  Rockefeller 


■JOHN  D  ROCKEf EILER 

POCANTICO  MILLS 
NEW  YORK 


Kovember  24,  1937. 

Sear  lir.  P help  a  : 

I  thank  you  for  your  very  kind  Invitation  to  be  pres- 
ent at  the  Sixth  Annual  Banquet  of  the  Twenty -Sir.  Broadway  Glut, 
to  he  held  at  the  Hotel  Biltmore  on  December  1st. 

Hothing  would  give  me  greater  pleasure  than  to  attend, 
and  to  mingle  with  the  old  representatives  of  the  Company,  and 
make  the  acquaintance  of  the  new,  on  that  occasion.      I  regret, 
however,  that  I  shall  he  unable  to  do  so. 

Please  extend  to  the  Club  my  heartiest  felicitations, 
with  the  hope  that  every  member  may  attain  to  the  highest  niche 
to  which  he  is  entitled,  and  the  utmost  usefulness,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Company,  not  only,  but  in  all  the  varied  relations 
of  life,  wherever  duty  and  service  may  call,  and  that  each  may 
be  keenly  sensitive  to  the  call,  remembering  that  in  this  way, 
only,  can  we  find  our  highest  happiness  and  satisfaction. 

With  appreciation  of  the  kind  thought  of  the  Club  in 
desiring  me  to  be  with  you,    I  am 


